The Plastic That We Wear
it's the end of the plastic free July, so we thought we'd share a bit about the PLASTIC THAT WE WEAR: Polyester!
All textiles are made from fibers; There are natural textiles (like Cotton, Linens, Silks and Wools) and synthetic (like Polyester, Nylon and Rayon). If you were to put both the natural and synthetic textiles in to soil to biodegrade, the natural pieces will fully biodegrade in 1 week - 5 months, but synthetic fibers break down after 200 years in to tinier pieces of the plastic that it is.
Much like plastic, to make Polyester you need all the top Bad-Boys of Climate Change; coal and petroleum (crude oil). It is then laden with harmful chemicals like formaldehyde and ammonia (of which cause serious long term health effects when you are in contact with them - like rubbing on your skin!). And lastly, like all textiles, it takes a lot of water and power to make.
When you put Polyester clothes in the washing machine, the item loses thousands of tiny microfibres that washing machine filters can't pick up. This sends un-seen tiny plastic fibres into our waterways and oceans. Our fish eat them, and some of us eat those fish 🤢
When we dry polyester in a dryer, the machine outgasses these chemicals into our homes and environment for us to breathe. This also happens when we wear Polyester - our body heat releases the chemicals into the environment, and our skin eats it up.
Polyester is dead cheap to make, and that is why fast fashion laps it up. That's why Nana says, 'they don't make them like they used to' because she knows what a decent fabric looks and feels like, unlike what is only offered now-a-days.
Like everything we do at Crushes, we try to encourage mindfulness about what we consume! We hope that this information makes someone reconsider if they want to purchase synthetic materials knowing how unsustainable and toxic they can be, both for the the environment and our our health. Check the garment tag before your next purchase to keep an eye out for nasty synthetic additions!
xx
All textiles are made from fibers; There are natural textiles (like Cotton, Linens, Silks and Wools) and synthetic (like Polyester, Nylon and Rayon). If you were to put both the natural and synthetic textiles in to soil to biodegrade, the natural pieces will fully biodegrade in 1 week - 5 months, but synthetic fibers break down after 200 years in to tinier pieces of the plastic that it is.
Much like plastic, to make Polyester you need all the top Bad-Boys of Climate Change; coal and petroleum (crude oil). It is then laden with harmful chemicals like formaldehyde and ammonia (of which cause serious long term health effects when you are in contact with them - like rubbing on your skin!). And lastly, like all textiles, it takes a lot of water and power to make.
When you put Polyester clothes in the washing machine, the item loses thousands of tiny microfibres that washing machine filters can't pick up. This sends un-seen tiny plastic fibres into our waterways and oceans. Our fish eat them, and some of us eat those fish 🤢
When we dry polyester in a dryer, the machine outgasses these chemicals into our homes and environment for us to breathe. This also happens when we wear Polyester - our body heat releases the chemicals into the environment, and our skin eats it up.
Polyester is dead cheap to make, and that is why fast fashion laps it up. That's why Nana says, 'they don't make them like they used to' because she knows what a decent fabric looks and feels like, unlike what is only offered now-a-days.
Like everything we do at Crushes, we try to encourage mindfulness about what we consume! We hope that this information makes someone reconsider if they want to purchase synthetic materials knowing how unsustainable and toxic they can be, both for the the environment and our our health. Check the garment tag before your next purchase to keep an eye out for nasty synthetic additions!
xx
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